Ratchet actuating and release mechanism.



W. H. JANKE 64 J. A HALE.

RATCHET ACTUATiNG AND RELEASE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2|

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

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RATCHET ACTUATING AND RELEASE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.2I, 1915- I PatentedSept. 12, 1916.

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RATCHET ACTUATING AND RELEASE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-21.1915. L11 9 1332 Patented Sept. 12,1916.

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gvmxzwtom aftozmz F l l BATCI-IET ACTUATING AND RELEASE MECHANISM.

Specificati ers Yatent. Patented Sept, 1L2, 19148,

Application filed December 21, 1915. Serial No. 68,075.

To all 10 hom it may concern:

3c it known that we, VVALTER H. JANKF.

and JOSEPH. A. HALE, citizens of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Ratchet Actuating and Release Mechanism, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention pertains to ratchet-actuating and release mechanism intended more particularly for use in connection with railway car brakes, though capable of use in other relations also.

The structure is designed to meet all United States safety appliance requirements for railway and like service, and at the same time obviate certain objections to and oflervarious advantages over existing types of hand-wheel or lever ratchet-actuating mechanisms.

The new construction will first be described in connection with'the accompanying drawings, and the mode of operation and special advantages will then be pointed out and claimed. i

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front or face elevation of the actuating mechanism,

the hand-levers being broken away in this and other figures to bring the drawings within the available space on the sheet; Fig.

2 is a vertical section in the plane of the axis of the shaft or arbor pf the windingdrum, said shaft and portions of the actuating levers being however shown in elevation; Fig. 3-is a. front or face elevation showing the parts in releasing adjustment or position; Fig. 4 is a front elevation. of the main supporting member or body; Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereof on. the line 22 of Fig. 4:; Fig. (1 is a perspective view of the I pawl-carrying hand lever through which rotary' motion is imparted to the drum on which is wound the brake or other chain or cable; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the combined winding drum and ratchet-wheel; Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the actuatingpawl; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the retaining and releasing pawl; and Fig. 10 is a view illustrating the manner of attaching the brake or other chain to the drum.

The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention suitable for use on a vestibuled railway passenger. car, where it isdesirable that the mechanism be capable of operation from within or without the car, at will. of the upright mei'nbers of the vestibule end, to opposite faces of which are secureds'uitable sheathings 2 and 3, here shown of thicknesses to indicate metal, though of course any usual end or wall construction may be used. The sheathings will of course extend from one to another upright, and be suitably secured thereto as usual.

Secured to one face of the wall is a main In these drawings, 1 indicates one supporting member 4, which will usually a. second supporting member or casting 5.

These members 4 and 5 are each provided with a circular opening, which openings are in axial alinement to receive and support a cylindrical shaft or arbor 6, the ends of which are made polygonal to receive'correspondingly socketed hubs of hand-levers 7 and 8, which are held in place by nuts 9 applied to the threaded extremities 'of the shaft or arbor. These lovers 7 and 8 may take any desired form, as for instance that of hand-wheels.

It will be observed upon referring to Fig. 2 that the shaft or arbor 6 is not reduced to form journals to rest and turn in the'bearings of the supports 4 and 5, but is left of full. diameter throughout the c lindrical portion, thereby securing the maximum strength and lessening the work of construction, since the stock material may be cut to the required length, and prepared for use by merely squaring and threading the ends of the pieces so cut off. To prevent longitudinal play of the shaft or arbor 6, there is formed upon the hub of lever 7 a peripheral flange 10,which enters between the outerface of shaft-supporting arm or bracket 11 of casting 4 and the inner face of a lug or projection 12 formed upon said bracket or its stiffening web, as seen in Figs. 1 to 5. This construction is simple and eiiicient, and prevents longitudinal play of the shaft or arwall or partition through which the armor passes. Loosely encircling shaft or arbor 6 is'a drum. 13 having at one end a ratchetwheel 14, and at or near its other end a spiment, and, by reason of its spiral or screwlike formation, to give direction to the chain at the commencement of its winding upon the dilum. As seen in Fig. 10, the hub or 'boss 15 is formed with a spur or lug 17 on its straight or tangential face, and with a bolt-hole in line with the inner side or-face of said lug, a suitable recess being made for the head of the bolt 18, as shown. Under this construction, a link 19 of the chain will find a flator plane bearing on the tangential face of the hub 15. The bolt 18 receives support from the spur or lug 17 to prevent its being bent over by the pull of the chain, and the link 19 is held by the bolt 18 and the spur 17 against lateral movement or de fiection, thus causing the,next link of the chain to lie in and follow the groove 20 in the peripheral face of thehub 15, which directs the chain properly to the cylindrical portion of the drur'n113mA-tap-bolt may of course be employed instead of the bolt and nut shown in the drawing, in which case the bolt-hole will be suitably threaded to receive the same.

The outer face of the ratchet-wheel 14 is recessed to receive or to overhang the upper end of the supporting arm or bracket 11 of the main supporting-member 4, against which the proximate end of the drum or the web of the ratchet-wheel formed thereon finds a hearing. The rear or inner face of said ratchet-wheel bears against a face 21 of the main supporting-member 4 intermediate the inner face of bracket 11 and the base or securing-plate of said member t. In this way, longitudinal play of the drum 13 is prevented, though the parts are fitted sufficiently loosely to permit free turning of -and retain the latter in its working position.

22 indicates an actuating-pawl pivotally mounted upon a lateral extenslon 23 of the lever 7, a suitably shouldered pin orbolt 24- serving as a pivot'for said pawl. This pawl 22 is of a width or thickness approximately half that of the ratchet-wheel 14,

.d falls by gravity into engagement with .518 periphery of said ratchet, a lug or stop 33 on the lever 7 limiting the play of said pawl, and maintaining it always in operative relation to the ratchet-wheel. Upon swinging said lever 7 in a right-hand direction as the parts are viewed in Fig. 1, the

tooth or hook of actuating-pawl 22 is caused to ride over the rear oblique faces of the ratchet teeth, and upon reversing the movement of said lever, engages with one of said teeth and rotates the ratchet-wheel 14 and the drum 13 by which it is carried, in the direct-ion indicated by arrow in Fig. 1, thereby causing the chain 16 to wind upon and about said drum. The free end of actuating-pawl 22 is beveled as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 8, for a purpose presently pointed out.

To hold the drum 13 against backward rotation, there is provided a second. or retaining-pawl 25 carried by a suitably shouldered pivot-bolt 26 passing through the intermediate plate 27 on support 4, the front of which plate constitutes the bearing face 21 above noted. This retaining-pawl 25 is, like the actuating-pawl 22, of a width or thickness approximately one-half that of the ratchet-wheel 14, and the tooth or hook at its free end rests upon the ratchet teeth, and falls by gravity into engagement with their radial orilocking faces as the ratchetwheel is turned in a backward or winding direction. The free end of said pawl 25 is formed with a lateral stud or projection 2829, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and S), the portion 28 projecting only to the extent of the thickness or width of actuating-pawl 22, while the portion 29 projects farther and stands in the path of a cam 30 formed upon the lever 7 near its hub or point of attachment to the shaft or arbor 6.

If now, when the parts constructed as above described and as shown in the drawing, lever 7 or lever 8, either or both, be oscillated about the axis of arbor (3 but not moved to carry lever 7 in clockwise direction materially beyond the vertical position indicated in Fig. 1, the drum 13 may be rotated and the chain or cable 16 wound thereon to any extent desired, and reverse rotation and unwinding of the chain or cable 16 will be prevented by the holding or retaining action of pawl When, however, it is desired speedily to release the ratchet LL and permit unwinding of the chain 16, it is necessary only to swing the lever 7 clockwise until the beveled end of pawl 22 engages and rides upward upon the portion 28 of stud. 2829, thereby withdrawing the tooth or book of pawl 22 from engagement with the-teeth of ratchet 14, immediately after which the outer or bearing face of cam 30 of lever 7 rides belneath portion 29 of the lug 28-29, and in v turn lifts the tooth or-hook of pawl out o ffengagement with the teeth of the ratchet llhthe pawl 22 being carried higher through Slich lifting of pawlf25; This sequence in thefllifting of the pawls is important, for

thereason that the actuating-pawl carried 'lby the hand-lever is thus fully disengaged and maintained clear of the ratchet-wheel before pawl 25 releases said wheel, and cannot again go into engagement with the ratchet-Wheel until after the retaining-pawl fifihas re'e'ngaged it. Hence impact of the ratchet-wheel: against the actuating-pawl d conse uent transmission of shock to the rater trough the hand-lever 7, in the event of. premature 'release or backward j m'ovement of said lever, is precluded. It is 01? course immaterial which of the levers 7 1on8 is utilized tooperate the device. It is ialso 'ObviOusthat said levers may each of them be placed at any desired angular adjustment with reference to arbor or shaft 6.

on the chain or cable 16 is partially woundand a load is brou ht upon the drum 13, the pressure exerted by a tooth of the ratchet 14: upon the tooth or hook of the retaining-pawl 25 will be sufficient to prevent the lifting or disengagement of said pawl except through the application of a" considerable force. Hence there is no danger ordinarily of the pawl being lifted byf cam 30 through the mere falling of the lever cated by the arrow in Fig. 1, is limited by a stop J31 on the bracket 11, and throw in the opposite direction is limited by a stop 32 tion when released by the operator.

I, viously, an independent counterweight, or its equivalent, a spring, would perform the Y I shock incident to premature release or backwhich comes in engagement with theportion 29 of the stud or projection on the retaining-pawl 25, as shown in Fig. 3. If it, be desired normally to maintain the levers in the upright position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the lever 8 may be made sufliciently heavy to restore lever 7 to its'upright same oiiice. I p I The main or attaching plates of the supports i and 5 are. here represented as in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the arbor 6, but either or both may be oblique thereto, or curved to fit the contour of the wall or body to which the device is to be applied, and this will be necessary or desirable where the structure is to be applied to curved end walls or vestibule walls of cars and the like. The precise form of the several parts is not material, provided they embody the general principlcs of construction and mode of action above set forth, but the drawings indicate a form which. possesses the desirfrom engagement with the ratchet.

seen that the structure possesses the following desirable characteristics: By providing a central shaft and a drum loose thereon, the main shaft or arbor may be made of any desired length, extended through a wall or partition, and provided on each side thereof with an actuating lever. This is.very desirable in many situations, notably in con nection with car brakes. The winding drum is independent of the shaft or arbor and may be independently renewed, thus permitting drums of different length and diameter to be supplied without change in other parts of the device. It also permits the employment'of cast metal for the drum and wrought metal for the shaft. Release of the drum is effected through movement of the same lever which serves to effect rotation of the ratchet and drum, such movement being merely carried further when release is to be effected than when winding of the chain is to be performed. This avoids the complication incident to independent releasing devices to be operated independently of the hand-lever, as has been proposed in some instances, and takes the release device from the floor or platform where it is sometimes placed; hence removes the liability of disengagement by persons passing the device. Release is etfected by the actuatinglever acting upon the same pawl which normally serves as a retaining pawl, and this is accomplished through merely moving the lever an abnormal distance. One ratchetwheel serves for the engagement both of the actuating-pawl and the retaining and reeasing pawl. The same abnormal movement of the actuatingdever which-withdraws the retaining and releasing pawl causes the actuating-pawl to be withdrawn Withdrawal of the actuating-pawl in advance of the retainingpawl, and reengagcment of the retaining-pawl in advance of the actuating-pawl, protects the operator against ward throw of the, actuating-lever. The structure consists of few parts all of which are simple, strong and inexpensive, and the device is at once compact and efiicient.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A ratchet-actuating mechanism comprising, in combination, a shaft; suitable supports in which said shaft is rotaably mounted; a hand-lever secured to said shaft; a pawl pivotally carried'by said lever; a

drum loosely encircling said shaft and provided with a ratchet wheel, the peripheral teeth of which lie in the path of said pawl,

, port and normally'engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel to prevent backward rotation and a locking pawl carried by the shaft supof the drum.

2..A ratchet-actuating mechanism comprising, in combination, a shaft; suitable supports in which said shaft is rotatably mounted; a hand-lever secured to said shaft; a drum loosely encircling said shaft and provided with a ratchet-wheel having peripheral teeth; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheel; and a second pawl carried by a fixed support normally engaging the teeth of the ratchet-wheel, but arranged in; the path of the hand lever and adapted to be dlsengaged fromthe ratchet by abnormal throw of the lever in non-winding direction.

3. A ratchet-actuating and release device comprising, in combination, a shaft or arbor; suitable supports in which said shaft is mounted-to oscillate; a hand-lever secured to said shaft and provided with a pawl-releasing cam; a drum loosely encircling and supported by said shaft, and provided with a a ratchet-wheel having peripheral teeth; an actuating-pawl carried by said lever, arranged to engage said ratchet-wheel, and having its freeend beveled; and a retainingpawl carried by a fixed sup ort, arranged also to engage the teeth 0 the ratchet- Wheel, and provided with a lateral stud or projection in the path of the'beveled end of saidactuating-pawl and of the releasingcam of the actuating-lever, said parts being arranged substantially as described, whereby upon a normal oscillation of the lever the actuating-pawl imparts rotary movement to the ratchet-wheel and drum and the retain ing-pawl holds-the same against backward rotation, and upon abnormal movement of said lever the actuating-pawl engages the stud and is lifted out of engagement with the ratchet teeth, and the releasing-cam thereafter withdraws the retaining-pawl from engagement with the ratchet-wheel.

4. In a ratchet-actuating mechanism, the combination of a shaft or arbor; supports in which said shaft or arbor is mounted to oscillate, one of said supports being provided with a lug spaced away from its shaftsupporting bearing; an actuating-lever secured to said shaft or arbor and provided with a flange or rib concentric with the axis of the shaft, and extending into the space between the shaft-supporting bearing and the lug or projection carried thereby; a drum loosely encircling and supported by the shaft or arbor; a ratchet-wheel carried by said drum; and a pawl pivotally mounted upon the actuating-lever and having a tooth or hook to engage the ratchet-wheel.

5. In a ratchet-actuating mechanism, the combination of a shaft or arbor; supports in the shaft-supporting bearing and the lug or projection carried thereby; a drum loosely encircling and supported by the shaft-or arbor;a ratchet-wheel carried by said drum; an actuating-pawl pivotally mounted upon the actuating-lever and having a tooth or book to engage the ratchet-wheel; and a retaining-pawl mounted upon a fixed support and adapted also to engage the ratchet-wheel to prevent backward rotation thereof.

(5. A ratchet-actuating mechanism comprising a-Imain support having a base provided with a bearing face and with a bracket spaced away from said bearing face; a ratchet-wheel located in the space between said bearingface and said bracket; a supporting shaft or arbor passing through said -atchet-wheel and supporting bracket; :1 lever secured to said shaft or arbor; and a pawl pivotally carried by said lever and arranged to engage said ratchet.

7. A ratchet-:wtuating mechanism comprising a main support having a base prootally carried by said lever and arranged to engage said ratchet.

8. In a ratchet-actllated drum mechanism of the character described, a winding drum having a hub or boss provided with a hearing face to receive and support a link of a winding chain; a bolt carried by said hub and passing through said link; and a lug or projection formed upon said hub or boss, and extending into the link on that side of the bolt toward which stress upon the chain tends to move the bolt, whereby said bolt is supported against the bending stress exerted through the chain. and the link is held against lateral movement.

9. In a ratchet-actluiting mechanism, the cmnbination of a ratchet-wheel; a support ing shaft or arbor therefor; an actuatinglever carried by said shaft; an actuating pawl carried by said-levcmmd arranged normally to engage said ratchetnduwl, but to be withdrawn therefrom upon abnordnahmovd ment of said lever; a retaining-pawl carried by a fixed support and likewise arranged normally to engage said ratchet-Wheel and provided with a stud upon which the actuati q-pawl rides upward When said pawl ismoved to abnormalposition; and a cam carried by said lever and serving through engagement with the retaining-pawl to withdraw the same from engagement with the ratchet-when; and through the movement of 12 said retaining-pawl t0 urther lift or move outward the actuating-pawl.

In testimony whereofwe have signed our names to this specification.

WALTER H. JANKE;

, JOSEPH A. HALE. 

